Morgan's death has been the subject of several failed police inquiries, and in 2011 it was at the centre of allegations concerning the suspect conduct of journalists with the British tabloid News of the World.

This unsolved murder has been described as a reminder of the culture of corruption and unaccountability within the Metropolitan Police Service, London's main police force.

Daniel Morgan was born in Singapore, the son of an army officer. He grew up with an elder brother and younger sister in Monmouthshire, where he attended agricultural college in Usk before spending time in Denmark gaining experience of farming.

Daniel Morgan had an exceptional memory for small details, such as car registration numbers, and in 1984 he set up a detective agency, Southern Investigations, in Thornton Heath, south London.

He married in his late twenties and moved to London, where he and his wife settled and had two children.